


6 - Once upon a December

by Kat_Lovegood



Series: Professor Layton Advent Calendar [6]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Advent Calendar, Advent Calendar Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21687160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Lovegood/pseuds/Kat_Lovegood
Summary: Henry and Angela spend an evening in front of the fireplace lamenting about what they have lost.
Relationships: Angela Ledore & Henry Ledore
Series: Professor Layton Advent Calendar [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557985
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	6 - Once upon a December

It was a cold, dark night, and even the colourful lights that decorated every house, every signpost and many trees in the strange city called Monte d‘Or, could not do much against the black emptiness of the sky. Henry Ledore, the mayor of the prosperous city, stood on the balcony of his manor, looking down upon the illuminated streets. He sighed before he turned his back on the scenery and entered into the private living room he shared with Miss Angela, though he would have to call her Mrs Ledore, or better just Angela, whenever they were out together. It was strange to think that they were married for ten years now, with today being their wedding anniversary. 

They had married in December, back in the little church of Stansbury, more than a year after Randall had vanished into the vast void of the Akbadain ruins. It had been convenient to marry in winter, they had more excuses to invite as few people as possible, to avoid a drive through town, to avoid any form of publicity at all. It had been a simple ceremony followed by a small dinner party, only given to satisfy Angela‘s parents. They had moved to Monte d‘Or soon afterwards, spent all their time and energy on finding their lost friend, on building this beautiful city - for him. It had been more than ten years, and he still missed Randall Ascot.

Angela was sitting on a sofa in front of the large fireplace. She was reading some kind of detective novel but seemed to pay little attention to it. Instead, her eyes frequently looked up, and she gazed into the dancing flames for a while before turning her attention back to her book. Henry had been trained to discretion from a young age, and Angela had not noticed him when he came in. But now, after he had watched her while preparing the two of them a cup of tea, he quietly cleared his throat as not to startle her and wordlessly handed her her saucer and the filled teacup. She smiled at him, gratefully, and he smiled back at her before he took a seat on the other sofa.

„It‘s the 6th of December, isn‘t it?“, Angela asked while taking a slow sip from her cup. 

Henry nodded. „Indeed, it is.“

„I can not believe it has been this long...“, the blond woman mused before putting her cup down on the mahogany table.

„Me neither...“, her husband answered, letting a sigh escape.

Henry would not display emotion often, and it had taken quite some time before he had loosened up in front of Angela, even though they knew each other well. The two of them were an odd match, even though no one who saw them would think this. They had learned to play their respective parts rather well over time. Whenever they were out in public together, they seemed like the perfect couple, smiling fondly towards each other from time to time, and she would hold his harm, and he would sometimes pat her hand. But never more. They never kissed, except the one time when they had no other choice. The other citizens of Monte d‘Or thought that Mr Ledore and his wife were quite stiff, typical of the British upper class, really, but no one would have doubted their affection towards each other.

But Henry and Angela did not love each other. They loved Randall Ascot, both of them did, and with all their heart. And they had sworn each other to be loyal to him, no matter what, no matter how long it would take him to come back. Or until… until they could prove his death. Henry did not like to think about it, but lately, the thought had crept up on him more and more often. The thought that the person he held dearest might never find his way back, that he was already watching him from the sky. But he did not dwell upon this idea, he could not bear it.

„It‘s Christmas soon...“, Angela said suddenly. 

Henry was thankful for this distraction. He might not love Angela like he loved Randall, but they had come to be close friends over time. She would usually find the right words to cheer him up whenever he needed it most, and Henry was very thankful for that. He wondered if he would have given up at some point without her support.

„Yes, I suppose it is. They have a special parade planned in the City, and the dance at the reunion Inn on Christmas Eve“, he answered her.

„I suppose I will have to come down with a dreadful cold one or two days before, then. Or is it your turn this year, Henry? Or I could slip on a patch of ice...“, Angela replied.

„As long as we don‘t have to spend the evening dancing together, I am fine with it.“

Of course, they were expected to dine together or to go to the occasional dance, but the Yule Ball was a bit too much for both of them to bear, as it would go on for hours and hours. And as they did not want to ruin their Christmas completely, they had come to an agreement that each year one of them would have to stay at home, or at least find an excuse to avoid the dancing.

Christmastime was always a little depressing at the Ledore estate, as there was not much to do in town, at least not over the holidays, and all the happy families around them made Henry and Angela more aware of their loss than at any other time of the year. So they spent those lonely December nights in front of the fireplace, wondering if the would ever celebrate Christmas with Randall again.

And somewhere in Craggy Dale, miles away from Monte d‘Or, the young man that had once been Randall Ascot but knew nothing about this fact himself, was sitting in his little room in the little house and wondered about the life he had lost. He wondered if he would ever know just what he had forgotten. But, before long, he got up from his chair and joined Firth in the kitchen for tea. But, one day, he thought, he would find out.

And he was right, for after another seven years had passed, Randall Ascot would spend his first Christmas at his new home with his old friends. 

But that is a story for another day.


End file.
